Bringing Society to Cyberspace

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Bringing Society to Cyberspace

CAMDEN, Maine – Creating new communities in cyberspace can help kids learn history in their own, real-world community.

That was the message from Amy Bruckman at the annual PopTech conference this weekend. Bruckman, an assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, created an online project that pairs kids with seniors who participated in the Civil Rights movement.

"History is about people and people's lives," Bruckman said. "It's not a parade of names of battles and dead white men.

"Learning history from people who really lived it makes it more real for the students."

Bruckman shared the stage with Smart Mobs author Howard Rheingold, to address the topic of "New Human Societies in Cyberspace," part of the "Artificial Worlds" theme of the conference.

Her project, called the Palaver Tree, is named for the West African tree that stands in the center of the village and serves as a place where the members of the community discuss important issues and share stories.

And that's exactly the kind of meetings that took place, except in a virtual setting. Bruckman and graduate student Jason Ellis created an online environment where middle school students could interview senior volunteers about their role in the Civil Rights movement.

Kids read about this period in history, then devised questions for the seniors. Some had been terrorized by a burning cross on their lawn, or refused to ride the bus as part of the Montgomery Bus boycott.

Students then created individual portraits of the elders who lived during that time.

"This is an example of what kinds of new human experiences computer technology makes possible," Bruckman said. "It's bringing new groups of people together, mediated by technology."

The researchers worked with a predominantly African-American school in Sweet Auburn, a neighborhood in Atlanta that was once know as "the richest black street in the world," according to Bruckman. Martin Luther King's birth home is located on the same street.

Yet "if you talked to these kids, they knew nothing of their neighborhood," Bruckman said.

Finding senior volunteers proved to be a pretty simple process. Ellis sent a message to Black Geeks Online and within a day had received e-mails from 100 interested volunteers.

Conducting interviews online was less time-consuming and more convenient for seniors. Online, asynchronous communication eliminated any scheduling problems.

"Working with older people requires a change of pace for some of us," she said. "They are eager to help but they don't want to over-commit themselves."

And while oral histories face to face are a nice idea, Bruckman said, unfortunately, they rarely happen.

"If it's not easy, it won't happen," she said.

Teacher input was an important part of creating the Palaver Tree.

Project leaders were surprised that teachers didn't necessarily choose elders with rich historical experiences because the quality of the volunteers' written English was even more critical. Teachers wanted good role models.

In addition to the Sweet Auburn school, Bruckman and Ellis repeated the project at a school with predominantly white students, which was also successful.

Several PopTech participants were impressed with the idea.

"She was really captivating," said Polly Greathouse, a user interface designer at Rand McNally. "How exciting that kids could have the opportunity to conduct interviews like that."

Greathouse said she appreciated hearing about the evolution of the program and Bruckman's insights into building new Web communities.

"It's involving the minority community in a meaningful exchange that they can actively be a part of," said Bonnie Bracey, one of the founders of Black Geeks Online and a speaker for the George Lucas Foundation. "They can understand the possibilities with technology and pass it around."